Betting
by Retrobot
Summary: Set sometime after 4x01. Castle receives a suspicious text from Beckett asking him to come over, he becomes worried for her safety. He turns up to find Beckett drinking, but he is in for a surprise from the team.


**__**DISCLAIMER:**__****_**  
><strong>_****__**However much I would like to I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights and ownership of the characters belong to ABC.**__**

****10:30 pm - Bullpen****

"Night Castle," Beckett called from her desk to the break room, where Castle was replacing his mug from his latest cappuccino. He poked his head out of the door.

"Night Beckett," he watched as she walked out of the precinct. He was worried about her. She had been irregularly quiet today. But, she had gone through a hell of a lot recently, he was trying to give her some space, the last thing she needed at the moment was him pestering her.

"_I wish he wasn't treading on eggshells around me,"_ Beckett thought as she got into her car. She hated feeling fragile, especially around him. She got into her apartment feeling numb. She wanted to forget today. There was a bottle of red wine on her kitchen table. She eyed it carefully, remembering that Castle had given it to her last Christmas. It always reminded her of being in his loft toasting their last successful case, the warmth of the wine matching that of his eyes. His soft brown eyes were always loaded with such affection.

****11:15 pm – Castle's Office****

Castle was twirling his chair idly, tossing a ball in the air. His phone beeped.

'Can u come ovr?' he frowned, it was from Beckett. Which was odd; she always called but he imagined she would use perfect English if she were to ever text him. Flashes of her being kidnapped from her apartment went through his mind. He rushed out of the office and headed for the door running past Martha and Alexis, grabbing his coat.

"Dad where are you going?" Alexis asked as she saw him rushing for the door.

"I think Beckett's in trouble!" he hastily shouted as he slammed the door shut.

He drove quickly to Beckett's apartment. As he approached he thought of ways in which he could use his friendship with the Mayor to get him out of any speeding charges.

****11:32 pm - Beckett's Apartment****

He finally arrived and raced to her door. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Beckett?"

No reply.

"Kate are you in there?"

He tried the door handle. It turned. The door opened and he saw that her lights were off. He shut the door behind him. It was so silent that all he could hear was his racing heartbeat and quick breathing. He waited until his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and tentatively walked in. Almost instantly, he spotted Kate slumped against her sofa with a wine bottle in hand. She glanced over.

"Oh, hi Castle," she slurred.

_"Oh no," _he thought, she was drunk.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, kneeling in front of her to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine," she smiled lazily, "I'm glad you're here Rick." She rolled the 'r' and emphasised the 'k' in his first name, he heard a giddy lightness to her voice. Was she flirting with him?

"Er, Why's that...?" he asked tentatively helping her up.

"I'm always glad to see you," she replied as he steadied her onto her feet.

Castle did not like this; she was coming onto him. Which was great, but she was drunk, which meant she didn't mean any of it.

She put the empty wine bottle on her coffee table. She looked stunning. Her dark, wavy hair was slightly tousled, framing the cheekbones on her perfect face, her eyes dark. She was wearing casual joggers and an over-sized t-shirt which showed a black bra strap and a portion of her left shoulder. Her skin looked soft and milky. His instincts told him to reach out and stroke her revealed skin. He tore his gaze away from the tantalising view.

"I love it when you check me out," she mumbled lowly, biting her lip. She took a step closer, he backed up an equal step. Her eyes narrowed and she gave him a playful smile. She took another step forward. Castle repeated his retreat, this time his back pressing up against the wall of her apartment. She took another step reaching him, she moved her hand up slowly and started stroking small circles with one finger across his chest. In an effort to save himself Castle had shut down all thought processes, his attempts shattered as she began to undo his top coat button.

"Kate," he gulped, his body freezing up, "I-I don't think this is a very good idea," He couldn't tear his eyes away from her, she had the most incredibly dark expression on her face. She reached to the second button.

"Kate, please." Third button. Rick's breathing was so heavy he could feel it burning his chest. Fourth button.

"Please what?" she whispered, barely audible as her fingers trailed around the last button of his coat.

"Please stop," the words managed to escape him.

Her fingers stopped. She looked up at him sticking out her bottom lip, she looked like a little girl asking for a kitten.

"You sure Rick?" she mumbled. His whole body shivered.

"Yes. Please."

"Ok," she stepped back, turning around allowing him away from the wall. He let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding in and began doing his buttons up again. She cleared her throat.

"Right guys, cough up."

Castle looked up from his coat buttons. He blinked at her.

"Aww man," he heard a familiar voice say, as Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie emerged from a side room, holding 20 dollars each.

Castle's jaw dropped.

"I cannot believe it," Esposito said begrudgingly, ignoring Castle as he handed Beckett his money. Castle stood there agape.

"They bet me $20 each that you would try it on with me if I pretended to be drunk." Kate clarified. For once Castle was speechless.

"Well we've had our fun boys, I think we should be going." Lanie noticed the expressions being traded and hurried Ryan and Esposito out. As soon as they were gone Castle piped up.

"They were there the whole time?" He poked his finger aggressively at the offending room. He was in shock, he couldn't believe he had just been played like that.

"You know they would never have taken my word for it," she replied calmly picking up her props.

"But what if I hadn't been such a gentleman?"

"Castle, I know you wouldn't dare, that's why I agreed in the first place."

"But you said..." he paused.

"Said what Castle?" She paused, looking at him confused.

"Nothing," he shook his head, "Well, I suppose I'd better go tell Alexis and mother that you haven't been kidnapped," he stated, in a dark tone that she was not used to, as he darted out of the door.

Kate cursed under her breath as the door slammed shut, She had done it again; she had pushed him away. The main reason she had done it was so that she could tell Castle how she truly felt, even if under a guise. She wanted to get some control back into her life. But she couldn't control Castle; instead of finding it funny he had been hurt. She hadn't been expecting that. She didn't realise he was that serious about her. Every time she pushed him away she was scared that he would stop waiting for her. But she was also scared that she couldn't be what he wanted after waiting for her for so long.

****10:03 am - Bullpen****

Castle felt humiliated, although he would never admit it. He found it exceptionally strange as this kind of prank was something he would have been pulling a few years ago. But he had changed, Beckett obviously saw that, otherwise she would never have bet against the boys. He just needed to wait for her a little longer.

"Good morning Detective Beckett," Castle trilled handing her her coffee, "Only coffee, I thought you'd probably had enough of the hard stuff." he jibed.

Beckett caught the hard undertone to his light-hearted joke. She could tell he was still upset, but she also knew that she the only person who could see it.

After Beckett had finished organising and filing some paper work she decided she needed a caffeine refill.

She walked into the break room. Castle was already there, his back to her, doing something to the coffee machine.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Hey," he replied, not turning around.

"Castle, I need to apologise," she went up to the windows and shut all of the blinds. He raised an eyebrow, turning to give her his full attention. She continued.

"I had no idea you would..." She sighed, composing herself, but still looking at his feet. "I didn't know you would react like that."

He shook his head, "Kate you never text me, and your door was open, I thought that..." he didn't want to say what he thought had happened to her, even thinking of her like that made his stomach churn.

Kate paused looking up at him, "Rick, I'm so sorry." She went up to him and hugged him. He felt the sincerity of the hug as she lingered.

"It's ok Kate, I forgive you," he smiled as she stepped back. "I got to pretend for a minute that you we're actually coming onto me." He laughed as she sat on one of the tables facing him. Her hands clasped underneath her chin.

"Who said I wasn't?" Kate retorted before she even realised. She was looking him straight on, her eyes sparkling.

"Ooh Detective Beckett," he narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I should buy you wine more often."

"Maybe you should Castle," she got up, still looking at him, steeling herself. "It was an act," she paused, looking him straight in the eyes. "But I didn't lie in there." Castle stepped closer until they were a breath apart.

"So you're always glad to see me?" he asked his head cocked to the side.

"Always," she agreed.

"And you like it when I check you out?"

She smiled and bit her lip. "Oh yeah."

"So actually. I'm really not that bad?"

"Don't push it," she mumbled sending a shiver down his spine. He was still looking at her. "Ok, I suppose not."

He grinned like he had just won the lottery.

"But-" she broke the silence with a more serious tone poking him in the chest. "If you tell any of the guys about this, I will not hesitate to shoot you."

"Yes ma'am," he saluted, accidentally brushing her hair as he did. She took a sharp intake of breath. He gave her a second, expecting her to pull away at any moment. He lightly placed his hand on the side of her face slowly tracing the contours of her cheekbones. She closed her eyes at the contact, taking in all her senses, making sure that this wasn't a dream.

"God you're beautiful," he whispered, looking at her face. She opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

He paused "Did I just-"

"Say that out loud?"

"Yeah."

"Yes you did."

Suddenly the door slammed open and Ryan and Esposito burst in.

"Boss we-" Ryan stopped speaking and looked up from the papers he was holding as Esposito urgently elbowed him in the ribs. Ryan saw Castle and Beckett's faces inches from each other with Castle's hand resting on her cheek. Castle instantly went to move his hand and step back. Beckett thought about how many times this had happened and how many missed opportunities they had had. She put her hand over his and stopped him. He raised his eyebrow.

Esposito picked up, "Sorry, are we interrupting?"

"Yes, get back to work," Kate deadpanned, not breaking eye contact with Castle.

Both boys backed out of the room in stunned silence before closing the door after themselves.

"Where were we?" Castle's voice was husky. He took a mental picture of this moment, it was perfect.

"Ah yes, I was telling you how beautiful you were," he slowly closed the gap between them, their lips touching. The contact gave them both shivers as they began slowly toying with each other's lips. Kate deepened the kiss, pressing harder, realising how much she needed it, how much she needed him. She moved the hand that had been over Castle's to his hips, the other following. His expensive suit was soft and warm against her fingertips. Everything about him was just so inviting. He moved his other hand to cup her jaw making sure she was real. She let out a soft moan. She felt him smile.

"What?" she queried, breaking the kiss.

"You did that last time," he smiled.

Kate remembered their last kiss, a frenzy of panic, lust and realisation.

"I guess you just have that effect on me Castle," she teased him, her tongue in between her teeth. "We should probably be getting back to work, the boys might think I've killed you by now." She smiled and pulled away begrudgingly as she headed for the door. He followed, not taking his eyes off of her. They walked back out into the light of the bullpen. Everyone was furiously working at their desks. Castle trailed behind Kate until he reached Ryan and Esposito's desks. He gave them both an expecting look, his eyebrows raised, his forehead tilted forward.

"Well boys, I was right wasn't I?"

Both boys sighed and reached for their wallets.

"Man, I really need to stop betting with you guys... " Esposito mumbled as he and Ryan handed over $20 each.

Beckett looked at Castle, her mouth slightly open in surprise her hands on her hips.

"Castle bet us that if we burst in on you guys, you would say we were interrupting and to get back to work," Ryan clarified looking intently at his monitor to avoid Beckett's glare.

"Did he now?" She scowled at Castle. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a sheepish grin.

"Well then Castle, it looks like you're buying," she picked up her coat and turned to make her way to the door.

"You just won a bet too!" he complained. She turned back, putting a hand on his right shoulder. She reached up, slightly lifting her heels off of the ground. She placed her lips inches from his ear.

"I'll make it worth your while," she whispered. He could feel the breath in her words on his skin. He gulped. She removed her hand, moving back. She looked at him with a victorious expression over her shoulder as she walked away. Castle looked at the boys who were trying very hard to look like they had not just seen that.

"Hotdog Detective?" he grabbed urgently for his coat and hurried after her.

"You sure know how to treat a girl Castle." She smiled as he caught up with her in the elevator. The doors closing softly behind them.

"Well Detective, I think fast food is great; I find the main course purely a distraction from the dessert," he looked her up and down. She caught his gaze and saw his chest heaving. She really enjoyed having this power over him even if he did exactly the same to her. He didn't know it but her heart was pounding twice as fast as normal, her stomach in a tight knot of anticipation. She had just told him she would make this worth his while. She didn't plan on disappointing.


End file.
